Consumer Price Indices - Basic Information

The consumer price level dropped by -0.1 % month-on-month in March. This decrease was brought about primarily by the fall in prices in ‘recreation and culture’. In terms of year-on-year comparison, the growth of consumer prices amounted to +2.8 % in March (the same as in February).

The month-on-month decrease in the price level was influenced (the same as in March 2005) by a seasonal fall in prices of winter recreational stays (-3.2 %). The drop in prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ continued the second month by –0.2 %, in which a decrease in prices of poultry, moderate zone fruit and fresh vegetables had roughly the same share (-3.1 %, -5.9 % and -4.0 %, respectively). On the other hand, prices of potatoes rose by +20.2 %, flour by +7.4 %, and prices of butter, tropical fruit, cocoa and coffee were higher by more than 1 percentage. In ‘transport‘, prices of automotive fuel decreased by -0.5 % and prices of cars went down moderately. The fall in prices went on in ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’ and ‘clothing and footwear’. In alcoholic beverages, prices of bottled beer were slightly lower.

However, a contrary effect on the price level was due to the increase in prices in ‘health‘, in which prices of stays at spas and prices of medicaments went up (+3.6 % and +1.0 %, respectively). In ‘miscellaneous goods and services’, especially prices of personal care have increased (+0.6 %).

In total, both prices of goods and services decreased by -0.1%.

In terms of year-on-year comparison, the increase in consumer prices amounted to +2.8 % in March (the same as in February). In most of the divisions of the consumer basket, the y-o-y price level was the same in March as in February or differed by 0.1 percentage point up or down. A slowdown in the growth of prices was recorded primarily in ‘transport‘ due to a slowdown in the y-o-y rise in prices of automotive fuel to +10.9 % from +13.9 % in February.

An influence of the particular divisions of the consumer basket on the y-o-y increase in consumer prices remained unchanged in March as in February. The biggest influence was recorded for ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels‘, in which prices of natural gas increased by +25.4 %, electricity by +9.0 %, heat and hot water by +11.3 %. The second in order was ‘transport‘ due to higher prices of automotive fuel and further ‘communications‘, in which prices of public telecommunications services were higher by +14.6 %.

On the other hand, however, the decrease in the price level was brought about particularly by a drop in prices of ‘clothing and footwear’, ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’ and ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’. In ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’, prices of major household appliances and small household appliances went down (-4.4 % and -5.0 %, respectively). In food, prices of flour (-9.7 %), moderate zone fruit (-14.7 %) and sugar (-11.5 %) were markedly lower than in the previous year.

In total, prices of goods went up (+2.2 %) as well as prices of services (+3.7 %).

Inflation rate, i.e. an increase in the average consumer price index for last 12 months related to the average CPI for the preceding 12 months stood at 2.2% in March, i.e. by +0.1 percentage point up on February 2006.

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year increase in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU25 was +2.2% in February (the same as in January). Prices grew most in Latvia (+7.0%), the least in Poland (+0.9%) and Sweden (+1.1%). Growth of prices in Slovakia accelerated to +4.3% in February (from +4.1% in January). In Germany, the rise in prices amounted to +2.1% (the same for the third successive month).

In the Czech Republic, the m-o-m drop was –0.1% in March and the y-o-y HICP growth reached +2.4 % (the same as in February and January). According to the flash estimate published by Eurostat, the y-o-y HICP increase for the Euro-zone was +2.2 % in March 2006.


Note:

Contact: Marie Huskova, phone (+420) 274054104, e-mail: marie.huskova@csu.gov.cz
Data source: CZSO survey
End of data collection: 20th day of the reference month
End of data processing: 3rd day of the month that follows each reference month
The data are final.
Related publications: 7103-06 Consumer Price Indices – Detailed Information (Internet: https://csu.gov.cz )